Published: Thursday, 10th December, 2009 4:00pm

Pupil breezes in with top sailing award

by Jonathan Kelly

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A TEENAGE sailing sensation has shot to the top of her sport and won a prestigious award.

Sophie Hamilton was one of five sailors selected to represent Great Britain at this year's Optimist World Championships in Brazil and has now won the Royal Yachting Association's Thames Valley Region Young Sailor of the Year Award 2009.

She said: "I'm very happy to have been selected, and I'm looking forward to going to the awards ceremony. It involved lots of hard work, out practising every weekend, but I really enjoyed it.

"The World Championships were really great fun and a great experience and I made loads of great friends and people from many countries to stay in touch with."

The determined 15-year-old was picked for her the World Championships after a gruelling set of trials fought between 100 of the country's top young sailors. She finished 157th out of 211 and is now plotting a course towards the 2012 Olympics.

More immediately she is looking forward to going to the London International Boat Show in January to collect her Young Sailor of the Year award. Despite her rapid rise, the Holt School pupil is keeping her feet firmly on deck and is not letting her success go to her head.

She said: "The 2012 Olympics are too far away at the moment to think about. I just have to take it slow, practice and train and I'll get there eventually."

Before considering a bid for the Olympic team, the Burghfield Sailing Club star is moving up a class and tackling the more complicated two-person 420 dinghy. Her mother hopes this will lead to a World Championship medal in the not too distant future.

Mum Nikki said: "She may dream of the Olympics but you can be a great sailor and you still might not get there as things go wrong in sailing that are outside of your control.

"Now she hopes to make World Champion in a year or two. It's been a very successful and busy summer and I am so proud of her."